Chapter 245: "A Horrendous Crisis"

Never before had House Castellano faced a crisis serious enough to require all four members of the family to gather in one room for a discussion.

Maria Castellano sat in her favorite armchair in her private study, looking down at the three grown men kneeling before her.

Usually, only her two sons had the misfortune of finding themselves in this position. Today, however, her husband had joined them, and all three wore expressions of varying degrees of misery.

"Fifteen fighters, a corrupt referee, and a locked cage. And you still couldn’t cripple one little girl?"

Maria rolled her eyes in exasperation, although most of her displeasure was reserved for her sons.

"And that’s not even the worst of it! You’ve handed Jeremiah another spectacular victory to advertise! Do you have any idea how many people will be lining up to watch Ariana Lombardi fight again after she pulled off something like that?"

Hezekiah and Zachariah winced at every word their mother emphasized.

Their defeat had been humiliating enough without her recounting it in such detail, particularly when they’d been so confident of success.

Instead of returning home with good news, they’d been forced to admit that Ariana Lombardi had defeated every fighter they’d arranged to have injure her.

Beside them, their father looked equally displeased about having to kneel, although his presence had nothing to do with the failed match. He’d simply been caught visiting a brothel the previous day.

It was hardly his first offense, and he’d long since grown accustomed to enduring his wife’s displeasure over such matters.

When he’d married Maria, the substantial fortune she’d brought from her own wealthy dynasty had helped rescue House Castellano from serious financial difficulty.

She’d never allowed him to forget that contribution, and over the years, he’d learned that yielding to her in domestic matters was the most peaceful arrangement.

"Maria, my dear, listen to me," he began soothingly. "Our sons may have failed, but they’re hardly to blame. If you must blame something, blame whatever made that Lombardi girl so ridiculously capable. Have you even seen the footage of her fights?"

Maria turned her irritation toward him.

"Of course I’ve seen it!" she snapped. "And while we’re discussing blame, perhaps you’d like to tell me whose brilliant idea it was to let Jeremiah sign a contract with a monster like that in the first place?"

Claudio suppressed a curse.

"All right, it was my fault! I admit it! At the time, I thought it was just another stupid idea Jeremiah wanted to pursue, so I let him. We all wanted the boy to make money for the family, didn’t we? We simply didn’t want him making enough to become Don. Isn’t that the whole reason we’re in this situation, honey?"

That finally seemed to temper Maria’s anger. She’d grown thoroughly tired of her husband’s sweet talk over the years, but at least he was capable of making a reasonable point.

They’d both encouraged Jeremiah to pursue profitable ventures. The mistake had been underestimating how successful he might become.

"What do you suggest, then, honey?" she demanded. "And while we’re at it, which ancestor of yours came up with this ridiculous tradition? Can’t you simply abolish it now that you’re Don?"

Claudio sighed.

"No, darling. Please, don’t start on that again. Tradition is tradition. If I tried to overturn it now, the entire House would rebel against me."

"Then this is a crisis, my lord! A horrendous crisis!" Maria exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Every time that girl steps into the cage, Jeremiah gets closer to that ten billion! And apparently, we can’t even cripple her! What exactly do you expect me to do now?"

Claudio had no immediate answer.

Neither did Zachariah, who kept his head lowered as though hoping his mother might temporarily forget he was there.

Hezekiah, however, had reached the limits of his patience. He’d spent enough time kneeling before Maria over the past week to develop a profound resentment toward the study floor.

He was the eldest son of House Castellano, the man who should have been the natural choice to inherit the title of Don. Yet here he was, kneeling like a disobedient child while his mother berated him over the success of his bastard younger brother.

He straightened his back.

"Then what if we make more money than Jeremiah?"

Both parents went still.

Maria turned toward him, and Claudio followed her gaze. Even Zachariah looked startled, as though his brother had just suggested something so absurd that it required a moment to process.

"Make more money than Jeremiah?" Maria repeated incredulously. "Hezekiah, my boy, I love you dearly, but if you were capable of making more money than your brother, you’d have secured the position of heir long ago!"

"No, Mother, this is different!"

Hezekiah met her gaze with a mixture of frustration and determination.

"This isn’t about business talent! Fine, I’ll admit Jeremiah is better at that than I am! But what if we find someone who’s just as much of a spectacle as Ariana Lombardi?"

Maria’s expression changed slightly.

Hezekiah noticed and seized the opportunity to continue.

"Jeremiah’s making a fortune because he’s got some kind of beast who can win impossible fights, isn’t he? What if we find someone who can draw an even bigger crowd than Lombardi and put him in my club instead? That way, we don’t even have to interfere with Jeremiah’s business anymore!"

Maria and Claudio exchanged a thoughtful glance, finally considering the proposal.

If Castellano the Second could begin generating revenue comparable to — or greater than — the First, House Castellano would benefit regardless of Jeremiah’s continued success.

More importantly, an income like that could help Hezekiah reach the required target before his younger brother did.

"Hmm."

Maria rubbed her chin.

"That’s not a bad idea at all. If we can’t stop that Ariana Lombardi from making money for Jeremiah, we’ll simply give the audience someone else to spend it on."

Claudio nodded, preparing to agree with his wife, but Zachariah spoke before he could.

"But Mother, Father! Where the hell are we supposed to find someone who can beat fifteen men like she did? If fighters like that were easy to recruit, we’d already have one!"

The question brought Hezekiah’s enthusiasm to an abrupt halt.

Ariana Lombardi was clearly no ordinary fighter. Whatever training she’d received, it was unlike anything he’d seen among the men competing in Borgata’s underground clubs.

Finding someone comparable would require searching beyond their usual recruitment channels.

Perhaps in another city.

Perhaps abroad.

But where, exactly, did one begin looking for a person with such extraordinary abilities?

The room fell silent as the family considered their options, each trying to recall a contact who might be able to help.

Eventually, Claudio raised his head.

"What if... we asked House Bellini for help?"

All three turned toward him.

"Don Enrico has an extensive network of connections through his arts and media businesses," Claudio explained. "Of course, his House has been dealing with quite a crisis lately, thanks to our youngest son. But if I approach him personally, I’m sure he could introduce us to someone who might know where to find the sort of talent we’re looking for."

The mention of House Bellini caught Maria’s interest. She’d heard about the auction at which Jeremiah had humiliated the Bellini heiress, along with the considerable trouble his actions had subsequently caused her family.

It was entirely possible that the Bellinis would welcome an opportunity to undermine Jeremiah’s business.

Still, there was an obvious difficulty.

"But isn’t Don Enrico occupied with cleaning up the mess Jeremiah left him?" Maria asked. "The man’s practically killing himself trying to save his House. Do you really think he has the time or patience to help us with a little favor like this?"

Hezekiah looked considerably more confident about that particular problem.

"Don’t worry, Mother," he assured her with a smile. "Don Enrico might be terribly busy, but his heiress, Lucilla, has been working closely with our House for some time. If Zachariah and I pay her a visit, I’m sure we can work something out with her much more easily."